


Sleepy

by yeaka



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic, Asexual Character, Gen, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3294170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Balin misunderstands and Bilbo tucks into bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleepy

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Drabble for anon’s “Can we get some more ace!Bilbo up in this fandom? Maybe Bilbo's aro ace and is fed up of his family haranguing him about getting married, maybe he likes snuggling with Thorin but doesn't want to take things any further, maybe it's a modern AU and Bilbo's struggling to understand his sexuality. I really don't care what the story's about, I just need more fic about asexual Bilbo” request on [The Hobbit Kink Meme](http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/13429.html?thread=25166965#t25166965).
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own The Hobbit or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

By the time Nori and Bofur relieve Balin and Bilbo from watch, everyone else is asleep. They return to a camp full of bundled up lumps on the floor, most scattered about the small clearing but some propped up against the cliff face. Thorin is one of those, slumped back as though he’s fallen asleep in a chair, or, knowing him, a throne. 

Bilbo picks his way around Bombur and over the intertwined mass of Fíli and Kíli, around the smattering of logs to where Thorin lies. Balin follows him quietly; there’s a large space between Thorin and the others with enough room for the two of them to lie down. But Balin is the only one who spreads out his sleeping bag; Bilbo steps into his and pulls it close to Thorin’s. Body heat, he’s found, is a much better source than fabric. Besides, Thorin is just so very solid and comfy, and being next to him makes Bilbo feel safe in the wide, scary world they’ve burst into. So he nestles up against Thorin’s side, like he so often does, and leans his face against the coarse material along Thorin’s shoulder, closing his eyes to sleep. 

Balin’s voice whispers fondly through the dark, “So, when can we expect the royal wedding?”

Bilbo opens his eyes again and surprises himself with a yawn, then mumbles, “What?”

“Between you and Thorin,” Balin chuckles. He looks somewhat funny with his head peaking out of his sleeping bag, because he keeps his arms inside, and his beard overflows down it. Bilbo much prefers Thorin to the hard ground, but obviously they can’t all sleep on one another. Tired as he is, it takes him a minute to muddle through Balin’s words.

Then he explains quickly, his cheeks turning hot, “Oh, no. No, no. I don’t like Thorin like that.” Balin’s grin only stretches wider.

“It’s alright, Bilbo. I wish the two of you all the happiness in the world.” He looks so very kind as he says it that Bilbo almost doesn’t have the heart to shatter his pleasant illusion.

But a respectable hobbit doesn’t perpetuate lies any more than they sleep on the rough ground when they don’t have to, so Bilbo insists, “No. I enjoy cuddling with Thorin, yes, and I’m glad he’s grown fond enough of me to be as close as we are, but I’m not interested in romantic or sexual relationships.” It’s a difficult thing to explain to a dwarf when, for all Bilbo knows, dwarves might have no such thing as aromanticism or asexuality in their culture. He’s already found out the hard way that they have no concept of doilies.

Balin’s smile does drop in favour of confusion, and he asks, “With anyone?”

“With anyone,” Bilbo confirms. 

“Ah,” Balin says, then frowns and adds, “I’m sorry for my presumption.” He does look sorry about it, but Bilbo only smiles, knowing how it must look when dwarves take so well to lying on stone and Bilbo opts, instead, for more comfortable hugs with the same dwarf whenever he can.

He says simply, “It’s quite alright.” Another yawn, and then: “Good night, Balin.”

“Good night, Bilbo.” And with that, Balin settles back down on the ground, rolling a bit to find the right groove, then blowing his beard into place and closing his eyes. 

Bilbo snuggles back into Thorin, who’s basically a cross between a giant pillow and a particularly cuddly bear.

When he’s asleep, anyway.


End file.
